Boeing's Dreamliner Has A Bug That Can Make It Lose Power Mid-Air

Here's yet another snag for the embattledBoeing 787 Dreamliner: The Federal Aviation Administration in the US today warned of an alarming software glitch, in which the AC power can cut out and cause the pilot to lose control in the middle of a flight.

The bug was revealed by tests by the Boeing laboratory, thank god, and not by some real world accident. If the plane is not powered down regularly between flights, its generator systems could switch into fail-safe mode, which would cut all AC electrical power. That could happen even if the plane were mid-air.

It does take 248 days of continuous power before triggering the software glitch, and planes are unlikely to stay powered on for that long under regular maintenance. But, as the WSJ notes, the Dreamliner has run into other technical glitches, which were often worst right after powering up. Boeing has suggested allowing extra time for the plane to boot up, but in practice airlines sometimes just keep the planes on to avoid the extra headache.

The FAA and Boeing have now both issued announcements on the importance of regularly powering down the aircraft. Hopefully, the danger of this bug will remain a hypothetical one.

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